


A Marriage for the Ages

by lmhawk



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/M, M/M, Marriage of Convenience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-06 07:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5407373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lmhawk/pseuds/lmhawk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Arthur's father demands that he get married, Arthur points out that he has a mate, and he doesn't want anything else. Unfortunately, in the eyes of society, alphas aren't real people, so Leon doesn't count. Arthur's father becomes more and more insistent, especially after he takes several other alphas under his wing. Then he meets Mithian, who is also determined not to be married for the exact same reason. When two people from such powerful families consider marriage, it's bound to be a marriage for the ages.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Proposition

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [On the Side of the Alpha](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4919476) by [Feral_Fic_Writer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feral_Fic_Writer/pseuds/Feral_Fic_Writer). 



> Hey, so I know I'm already half way through too many other stories, but this screamed out to be written. I won't write anymore unless there's a demand for it. This was written as a Merlin adaptation of a Sherlock fic, and Feral_Fic_Writer totally came up with the idea for the universe. I just added a Merlin spin. Enjoy.

“May I have a word with you?” Arthur could see Mithian’s outline in the dusk. She’d excused herself to get some fresh air after dinner, and her father had brushed her off as he settled in to talk business with Arthur’s father. When it became clear that his input wasn’t wanted or needed in their discussion, Arthur excused himself and went after her. The night was clear and mild, and she was standing on the lawn, looking up at the stars.

Mithian turned. “If this is about who should have won Eurovison, I have more arguments prepared.” At dinner, Arthur had mentioned off-handedly that he thought the Swedish victory in the song contest was undeserved. Mithian had agreed, but they’d argued about who should have won instead. It had been fun to talk to someone who was as interested in and opinionated about music as he was. He almost brought it up again, just to see what she’d say, but he refrained. They had other things they needed to talk about. “I wasn’t going to bring it up,” Arthur said. “I actually had a proposition for you that had nothing to do with that.”

Mithian took a few steps toward him. “What sort of proposition?”

“Marriage,” Arthur answered seriously. He knew it was a gamble, but if he could make her see his point of view, it could be beautiful. “Let’s get married.”

“Well that was certainly unexpected,” Mithian said. “Absolutely not.”

“Any particular reason?” Arthur asked, hoping she’d give him a certain reason, so he could make his argument.

“For one thing,” she said, “I’m mated.”

“As am I,” Arthur said. “But my father won’t stop hounding me about it, and I’m guessing yours won’t either. This could be a way to shut them up.”

Mithian blinked. “That is an intriguing proposition. I hadn’t realized you were mated.”

“I am,” Arthur said. “Leon is the best mate I could ask for.”

“And you would cheat on him?” Mithian asked.

“Never,” Arthur said firmly. Mithian raised one eyebrow. Arthur frowned, then the realization dawned on him. “I’m not proposing…marriage implies sex, it doesn’t require it. Both being happily mated, we can probably skip that part of married life.”

“Then what would our relationship be?” Mithian asked.

Arthur thought about it for a moment. “We’d be…beards.” The word was dredged up from his ancient literature class, but it fit the situation well.

“Beards?” Mithian asked, laughing at the absurdity of the word. “Really? Are we that old fashion?”

Arthur smiled slightly, but said, “Think about it. Each of us is in love with someone who society would not deem it appropriate to enter a proper marriage with, and neither of our fathers will accept that we don’t want a traditional marriage, so we’re getting married to appease them with the understanding that neither of us is romantically or sexually interested in the other.”

“Why should I choose you?” Mithian said. “From the sound of it, I could choose any number of potential beards.”

“True,” Arthur admitted. “But, you’d want someone mated to an alpha, so that they’d understand your devotion, and wouldn’t think that your relationship might evolve into romance.”

“A good point,” Mithian said. “But you’re hardly the only omega mated to an alpha whose family wants him to get married anyway.”

“I suppose not,” Arthur said. “But, your father, who is the driving force behind your decision to get married, would very much approve of me, and if he’s anything like my father, he won’t stand for you marrying somebody who wasn’t from a good family.”

“That is true,” Mithian said. “Our fathers would salivate at the thought of the two of us getting together.”

“And I thought,” Arthur pushed on, “that we get along very well. It would be better in a marriage where there is no love for the two participants to at least enjoy each other’s company. Makes it less awkward.”

“You aren’t particularly hard to put up with,” Mithian said. “Tell me: how would you break the news to Leon that you’re planning to get married.”

“Well,” Arthur said, “I’d invite you and your mate over for dinner, and introduce you as a mated pair. Then, everybody could meet you, and once they were enamored with you, then I’d announce our intention to get married. They know my father is pushing for a marriage.”

“Everyone?” Mithian asked, eyebrows lifting again.

“Well,” Arthur said, “I tend to end up taking in stray alphas with nowhere else to go.”

“I see.” Mithian said.

“It’s not…” Arthur heard the disapproval in her voice and scrabbled to find the right words to explain. “I mean my P.A., Merlin, worked for me for over a year before I took over his sponsorship when his uncle had some trouble, and Gwaine was stabbed saving my life, so of course I took over his sponsorship when he was fired because of that, and Lancelot had worked for me before, and it was unfair of my father to fire him, or at least uncalled for, so he and Percival lost their sponsorship helping me out of a tight spot, of course I stepped in. Percival was terrified of going back to the center. And Elyan…well, he’s not exactly…he’s around a lot, because his sister thinks he needs to socialize with other alphas, and they all love having him around. Especially Gwaine. The two of them have…something going on. It’s actually rather sweet.”

Mithian’s eyes grew wide. “Your life is like a comedy of errors. And your mate, Leon, doesn’t object to any of them?”

Arthur shook his head. “I mean he knows that I’m his mate and his mate alone. The others are just…I guess I’m their den mother. They know I’m Leon’s, and they respect him because of that. I mean he complains about Gwaine, but I know they actually like each other. Gwaine is just a handful sometimes. He’s good at heart though. And loyal.”

“A den mother?” Mithian asked.

Arthur blushed. “I am. Gwaine started using it as a way to mock me, but it’s true.”

“So if I marry the den mother,” Mithian said, “I marry the whole den.”

“I suppose so,” Arthur admitted, then hastily added, “But they’ll love you, I’m sure of it.”

“And Elena?” Mithian asked.

“Elena?” Arthur asked, confused.

“My mate,” Mithian clarified. How would she fit into all this if we were to get married?”

Arthur shrugged. “I suppose she’d be pulled into the fold as one of the alphas. Leon never seemed to have a problem getting alone with the others because he’s mated, I can’t see that it would be a problem for her. Plus,” he added, “She’d have a chance to meet everyone, and everyone would have a chance to meet her before we made anything official.”

“I suppose it could hurt to consider,” Mithian said. “My father was threatening to disinherit me, you know, if I didn’t get married to somebody he deemed acceptable.”

“Why don’t you and Elena come to dinner and meet everybody,” Arthur said. “It wouldn’t have to be set in stone.”

“Next Saturday night at six work for you?” Elena asked.

“I’ll see you then,” Arthur said with a smile.


	2. Cupcakes and compromises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which cupcakes are consumed, sneezing is adorable, and Mithian breaks the news to Elena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, apparently I'm going further with this, because I had the urge to write today, and somebody already requested more. Enjoy!

After dinner was over and she could leave without being rude, Mithian took off for the apartment she shared with her alpha. It was rather small, since she refused to let her father pay her rent, but in a nice neighborhood. Mithian wondered how she’d tell Elena about Arthur’s proposition, and her plan to consider accepting. Maybe she’d just tell her it was a dinner with a friend and his mate. Then she’d find out about the marriage at the same time as all the alphas in Arthur’s household. And would probably resent Mithian for not telling her first. Elena could hold a grudge if she felt like it was deserved. Mithian finally reached the apartment and unlocked the door, still half distracted with thinking about what she should say to Elena. So when she opened the door and was immediately grabbed she squeaked with fright.

Elena loosened her grip. “Sorry. Are you alright?”

Mithian took a deep breath to slow her heartrate. “I’m fine. You just startled me.” If she couldn’t handle a surprise, she never would have mated Elena. She gave her mate a smile to show she wasn’t mad, and then scented each side of her neck in a proper greeting.

Elena scented Mithian's neck in return, then kissed her cheek. “How was the dinner with your father?”

Mithian pushed Elena’s arms away gently so she could close the door and take off her coat. “It wasn’t so bad. He just wanted to dangle Arthur in front of me, I think. Mostly he and Uther talked about politics.”

“Is he still on about the marriage thing?” Elena asked.

“Unfortunately, yes.” Mithian sighed. “I just wished he’d give it up. At least for a couple of months.”

“I made cupcakes,” Elena offered. “Do you want one?”

Mithian rolled her eyes. “Sure.” Elena grabbed her arm and dragged her into their kitchen. Mithian stumbled after her. Elena never seemed to know her own strength. She stopped suddenly, sending Mithian falling into her. Mithian took the opportunity to pull Elena down for a proper kiss. Unfortunately there was a bit of stray flour on the counter, and Elena broke away from their kiss to cover her face with her elbow to block a fit of sneezing.

Mithian laughed, and Elena glared at her as she sniffed and wiped her nose with her sleeve. “See if I knot you tonight.”

“I am sorry,” Mithian said. “you’re just so cute when you sneeze.” She pulled on the stools at the breakfast bar out for Elena, who sat down huffily, only partially appeased. Mithian knew Elena would come around before the end of the night. She loved sex too much to withhold it for something so trivial.

Elena sighed. “Was Arthur as much of a bore as you expected him to be?”

“No actually,” Mithian said. She took on of the cupcakes from the plate Elena had laid out. They looked rather bedraggled, but Mithian knew they would be delicious. Such was the way with everything Elena made. “He was rather sweet, if a bit awkward and having terrible taste in music. Do you know that he thinks France should have won Eurovision?” She took a bite of the cupcake.

“Well he’s wrong about that,” Elena said. “But you said he was sweet?”

Mithian swallowed. “He is. And he’s in the same boat as me.” She looked at Elena before continuing. “He has a mate, and his father is hounding him about getting married.”

Elena chuckled. “The two of you should get married. That would really throw them for a loop.”

“Actually,” Mitian said, “Arthur suggested the exact same thing.”

"Seriously?" Elena frowned. “You didn’t say yes did you?”

Mithian huffed. “Do you honestly think I’d agree to get married without consulting you first?”

Elena pursed her lips. “You didn’t say no, did you?”

“I agreed to bring you over for dinner to meet him and his mate, and the rest of his household,” Mithian said. “And we won’t decide anything until everybody knows what they’re getting into.”

“The rest of his household?” Elena asked skeptically.

“Apparently, he has a bunch of other alphas who are living with him,” Mithian said.

“He sounds skeezy,” Elena said. “Are you sure about this? I don’t want to get involved in any kinky foursomes.”

Mithian reached out her hand and put it on Elena’s shoulder. “He agreed that even if we get married, we can skip the sex. He said he isn’t sleeping with anyone but his mate.” She looked at Elena. “Just meet him okay? If you don’t like him, I won’t marry him. Promise.”

Elena put her hand on top of Mithian’s. “Fine. But if he comes on to me, I get to punch him in the face.”

Mithian smiled. “I’ll back you up if it comes to that.”


	3. All together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Arthur gathers all of the alphas in his household and ends up telling them the plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kept going with this, but I've been busy, and my writing time has shrunk. I hope you enjoy the latest installment of the saga and the interactions between the knights.

Gwaine and Percival were wrestling on the floor. They hadn’t meant to start wrestling, but they’d been playing cards and Gwaine played one and wanted to take it back, but Percival claimed he couldn’t and Gwaine claimed he hadn’t taken his hand off it, and then Percival grabbed the card to prove he had, Gwaine had lunged after him, and the two of them had ended up wrestling over the card. At some point, one of them had kicked the table, and the rest of the cards had gotten scattered, ruining their chance at resuming the game. Neither of them particularly cared one way or the other. It had become more about their contest of strength. Percival was bigger, but Gwaine was good at using his smaller size to his advantage, so they were more evenly matched than they would have been otherwise.

Merlin and Lancelot had been working out upstairs, but after a few minutes, Lancelot had decided that they couldn’t ignore the commotion any longer, and had gone down to investigate, and Merlin, scowling, had followed after. Lancelot had stood halfway up the stairs, watching Gwaine and Percival rolling around on the floor. Merlin had sat down a few stairs higher. “Let them get it out of their system.”

Leon, who’d been in the kitchen doing dishes from dinner, came out into the living room and said, “Stop that.” He was so focused on the two of them that he didn’t hear the door opening, and neither did Gwaine and Percival. When they didn’t stop, Leon dropped into his alpha voice. “Stop that now!” Gwaine and Percival both stopped, albeit reluctantly. They were more wary of what it meant that Leon resorted to his alpha voice than actually compelled by the voice itself, since they were Alphas themselves.

Arthur, on the other hand, froze in place when he heard Leon use his alpha voice, with shivers running down his spine. He recovered quickly, taking deep breaths to ground himself. Leon noticed a split second after he snapped at Gwaine and Percival that Arthur was in the room. He made his way quickly across the room and stopped in front of Arthur, smelling the residual instinctual fear. He gently took Arthur’s face in his hands and asked, “Are you alright?”

Arthur saw the same vulnerability in Leon’s eyes that he’d seen when Leon was just an alpha that Uther was sponsoring as a favor to a friend, and he was asking if Arthur wanted him to help him through his heat. Arthur couldn’t be mad at Leon when he looked like that, so he pulled him down and kissed him. Leon kissed him back for a moment, then pulled away. He scented either side of Arthur’s neck, then stepped back. The others had gathered around, Merlin and Lancelot coming down the stairs and Gwaine and Percival following Leon at a more sedate pace. Arthur scented each of them in turn and allowed them to scent him. Arthur made a note of the fact that Percival was nearing rut. If he went into rut the next day or the day after then he could get it out of his system by Friday. Otherwise, he’d have to miss the dinner. Arthur wasn’t worried about Percival’s rut beyond that. They had a room in which Percival could lock himself away, and it was well stocked with water and energy bars. They were well prepared for this sort of thing.

Arthur made his way into the living room. The cards from Gwaine and Percival’s game were still strewn everywhere, and it grated on Arthur’s omega instincts. He began to gather them up. He could smell Gwaine and Percival’s guilt. Lancelot cleared his throat. “Um, Merlin and I, would it be alright if we went upstairs and showered?” Merlin huffed and rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything. Merlin, Arthur knew, would simply say that he was going up to shower, and expect Arthur to allow it.

Arthur sighed. All of them tended to fall back on the convention of asking his permission to do things when he was around. “Of course you can. Come down when you’re clean.” Merlin and Lancelot left to go shower and Arthur kept gathering the cards. 

Gwaine and Percival bent to help him, and Leon took a deep breath to fight the instinct to help as well, and ended up compromising by straightening the table back to its original position. Gwaine and Percival presented the cards they’d gathered, not quite meeting his eyes. Arthur shuffled the cards together and set the deck on the table neatly. “Thank you.” He could tell they still felt bad, and felt like he had to say something. He flopped back into his favorite armchair and put his feet up on the ottoman.

Leon, quick as lightning, lifted Arthur’s feet and sat down cross-legged on the ottoman settling Arthur’s feet into his lap. He took the laces on Arthur’s shoes and looked up at his mate. Arthur nodded and Leon began to undo the laces on Arthur’s shoes. Gwaine and Percival left the room. Leon carefully eased off Arthur’s shoes and socks. Arthur huffed. “My father is still insisting that I should get married.”

Leon tucked Arthur’s socks into his shoes, then began massaging his feet. “I didn’t think he would give the notion up.”  
Arthur looked at Leon. “It’s still not fair, especially to you. If I do get married, it will be to an omega who also has an alpha mate. That way, they’ll understand that you come first.”

Leon frowned. He would have asked what gave Arthur the idea and if he had someone specific in mind, but at that moment, Gwaine and Percival came back into the room. Gwaine was carrying a bottle of whiskey and Percival was carrying a glass with a few ice cubes in it. They stopped right next to his chair. “We thought you might want a drink,” Percival said.

Arthur glanced up. This was something they did often, because they were all constantly trying to follow their alpha instinct to provide. He offered Gwaine and Percival a small smile. “I would enjoy a drink.”

Gwaine unscrewed the top of the bottle and poured about two shots worth of whiskey into the glass. Percival handed the glass to Arthur, who took it and nodded. Gwaine turned and left the room with the bottle, and Percival fidgeted nervously, until Arthur sighed and said, “You can sit on the couch you know.”

Percival sat down gingerly on the edge of the couch. Gwaine came into the room, glanced at Arthur, then at Percival, and then sprawled out on the couch next to him. Percival relaxed back into the seat a little more. Arthur took a sip of his whiskey. It was Leon who finally broke the silence by saying, “How did the dinner with your father go?”

“Not badly,” Arthur said. “I hadn’t seen Mithian in a while, and I forgot how well, we get along.” He glanced at Leon.

“I assume your father still wants you to get married,” Gwaine said.

Arthur thought for a moment. “I avoided raising the topic of marriage with my father.”

They three Alphas noticed his oddly specific wording and the spike of uncertainty in his scent. “What aren’t you saying?” Leon asked, his voice low and concerned.

Arthur swallowed. “I think I should wait until Merlin and Lancelot come back down.”

Gwaine sat up. “Alright, I’m interested. Why are we waiting for Merlin and Lancelot?”

Arthur set his drink down. “Because…Mithian and I talked, and I want to tell you what she said, but I thought I should tell everybody all at once.”

Gwaine crossed his arms. “The last time you gathered all of us up like that, it was for Gwen’s rescue, and that ended with Percival and Lance moving in.” he glanced at Percival. “Not that that was a bad thing, but how is this going to end?”

Arthur thought for a moment. “I might mean another alpha will move in. But whatever happens will be much less ad hoc than what happened that night.” He looked at Leon. “I can promise you that much.”

Percival looked slightly confused, glancing between the two of them, until Gwaine explained, “When Arthur first insisted we go rescue Gwen, Leon was hesitant, because he said it was dangerous. And we probably all would have died if you and Lance hadn’t stepped in.”

“It might have been a bad idea,” Arthur acknowledged. “But Gwen…”

Leon could smell his mate’s distress spiking, and cut him off quickly. “It all worked out for the best.”

Gwaine could also smell Arthur’s distress as well and felt bad. “I did. My point was supposed to be what will happen with this thing?”

Merlin came into the room, still damp from the shower. “What will happen with what?” He could smell the heightened emotion and had no idea what the cause of it was.

“Apparently,” Gwaine said, “we have to wait until Lancelot comes down, because our beloved den mother can’t tell us until we’re all here.” He slung his arm around Percival’s shoulder and moved closer to him, which made a spot next to him on the couch.

Merlin sat down next to Gwaine. “Lancelot will be down in a minute anyway. I see you and Percival kissed and made up.”

Gwaine and Percival looked at each other. Gwaine shrugged. “I might have been cheating.”

“I probably should have let it slide,” Percival said, “I’m just so close to my rut, I’m not thinking straight.” He bit his lip and turned to Arthur. “I think I should seclude myself tonight.”

“Of course,” Arthur said. “Do you think you will be calm enough to have dinner with us on Friday?” He hastily added, “If not, you can stay secluded.”

Percival said, “I’ll probably come out Thursday morning. Why?”

Lancelot slipped into the room and perched on the arm of the couch next to Merlin. When Arthur turned to look at him, he blushed and stood up. “I’m sorry.”

Arthur sighed. “You can sit on the couch if you want. I have to tell you all something anyway.” He glanced at Percival. “This is why I wanted to know about Friday night.”

“Finally,” Gwaine said. “Get on with it then.” Lancelot shot him a disapproving look at sat back down on the arm of the couch.

Arthur took a deep breath. “I suppose I should start by saying that my father has been trying to get me to get married, despite the fact that I have a mate.” He glanced at Leon. “I would never choose anyone else above you. You know that.”

“Of course I know that,” Leon said. “We’ve been mated for years now, and you’ve been faithful to me, despite being surrounded by other alphas.” He stopped massaging Arthur’s feet and leaned forward, elbows on Arthur’s shins. “Are you considering doing what your father wants?”

Arthur swallowed. “He’s never going to stop pestering me about it. And I can keep deferring him, but it will come to a head at some point. Tonight, I talked to Mithian, and she is in the same situation, with her father pressuring her to marry despite the fact that she has a mate. I suggested that if we were to be married, then we could have a completely platonic relationship and combine our dens into one.”

Gwaine frowned. “What’s the point of getting married if you’re not going to sleep with her?”

“To stop his father for being on his ass about it,” Merlin said. “Plus, avoid the risk him kicking Arthur out of the company.”

Percival looked appalled. “Your father would do that, just because you’re not married?”

“He’s threatened to,” Arthur said. “He might not go through with it, but can’t risk…a blacklist from my father would make finding a job difficult.”

“We understand,” Leon said. “But what does this have to do with next Friday?”

“Mithian and I agreed that we can’t make the decision to get married without everyone being onboard,” Arthur said carefully. “So, on Friday, Mithian and her mate are going to come to dinner, and that way, you can all meet her and Elena. You don’t…I’m not going to marry her if you hate her, but try to keep an open mind and give her a chance.”

“Wait,” Gwaine said. “Her mate’s a female Alpha?”

“She is,” Arthur said. “I have yet to meet Elena, but I’m sure she’s lovely.”

“We’ll all do our best to make her feel welcome in your den,” Lancelot said.

“It’s your den too,” Arthur said. “And I appreciate that.”

Percival stood up, rut scent rising sharply. “If that’s everything…”

“Go,” Arthur said. “Seclude yourself if you feel you need to.” Percival left the room and headed upstairs to lock himself in the room that they had set up for just that purpose.

Leon lifted Arthur’s feet from his lap and stood up. He took a few steps forward and leaned down to kiss Arthur. The others scattered after that. When they broke their kiss, Arthur grinned. “Carry me upstairs?” Leon was only too happy to comply. 


End file.
